Scunthorpe hospital ward closed after outbreak of sickness bug

A ward has been closed at Scunthorpe General Hospital due to an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting.

Ward 24 is closed to new admissions and transfers.

Patients from the ward will not be discharged to nursing or residential homes while they remain an infection risk.

The hospital’s infection prevention and control team will review the situation daily and regular disinfection is being carried out on the ward to contain the outbreak.

Visitors who have been suffering from diarrhoea and/or vomiting are urged not to go to the hospital until they have been symptom free for 48 hours, as they will be infectious to others during this period.

Dr Peter Cowling, trust consultant microbiologist, said: “This type of illness does come into the hospital from time to time, as in other hospitals across the country, and that is why we have a robust infection control policy in place to deal with such eventualities.